New Perspective, Renewed Confidence

“When someone tells you that they believe in you, when they tell you that you can accomplish anything, that your dreams are NOT ridiculous, that you are capable of absolutely anything, that you are worth more than you could ever imagine, that you DO matter, and you can make a difference, when they understand that you have fears, but urge you to go beyond them, to let go of self-doubt and hesitation, when they tell you these things, believe them, every time, because if you truly believe, you will realize, that they are always, always right.” – Aaron Keith Hawkins

You know those moments when you feel your confidence has been completely obliterated? Like life is constantly blindsiding you and knocking you to your knees? Sometimes it may happen to us so often it feel like we were born without the ability to consistently accomplish anything significant or truly valuable.

Stand tall my friend. The only thing you need is some new perspective. Your awesomeness is always there, just waiting to be acknowledged and directed by its owner. You.

It's time to see the real you, and regain the confidence that is rightfully yours.

Much like the “voice” in this story…

There once was a land filled with castles. Each one different, but all magical, strong, beautiful and unique. Built with the strongest stone, wood and steel, they were all capable of withstanding anything.

One day, a furious storm raged. One of these castles stood next to a beautiful clear lake. The Castle was boldly facing the wind, snow and rain when suddenly, it heard something… a voice.

“Would you please help me?”, said the voice. The castle looked perplexed. “–sure. But, what could I possibly do to help the likes of you?”

“Well, you're a Castle. The storm out here is horrible. I wish I were able to survive on my own, but I wasn't built strong like you.  I need shelter. Will you help me?” The Castle smiled. “I suppose I could. You're right, the weather is pretty harsh right now. I'd be glad to help. Come inside. You're going to be just fine.”

The voice entered. The Castle provided shelter, conversation and a friendly word of encouragement. After some time, the voice felt much more relaxed.  “Thank you. I'm feeling much better. It's still pretty bad out there, but I've taken enough of your time. I should get going.”

The Castle smiled. “It was really no bother. Are you sure you're alright?”

“Yea. I think so”, said the voice. “I appreciate your help.”

The Castle smiled, “It's been great talking with you. Please, come back and visit with me anytime. However, there is one thing I need to ask you to do when you leave.”

“Anything.” said the voice.

“Make sure you take a look into the lake, and tell me what you see.”

“Look into the lake?”

“Nothing more.” said the Castle. “Just look down into it.”

The voice was confused, but he knew he wouldn't have survived without the Castle's help. So, as he left, he made his way to the edge of the lake.

Looking out across the water, he once again saw the raging storm, felt the wind pounding his face, the cold rain and sleet trapping him once again. He was beginning to feel worse than he did before he found the Castle. But he remembered his promise. “Look into the lake.” he muttered. “For what?”

Hesitantly, with the storm growing stronger around him, the voice crept to the edge of the lake and slowly leaned over…

Something incredible blocked out the falling rain. The water stilled. The voice squinted, trying to focus, …surely he was hallucinating. He began to tremble. Tears of confusion began to fall. He turned to the Castle.

“Please. Tell me what is going on.” the voice cried. “My reflection. It's — a castle.  It looks as big and strong as you.”

“Equally as strong as me, probably stronger.”

“–I don't understand.”

“What you see… is you.”

The support and encouragement we receive from friends, family and mentors are extremely important. Sometimes it just takes a little nudge from someone who cares to help us reflect on how amazingly strong we already are.

Well, consider this your “nudge”.

I offer you 2 simple challenges to get your mind going in the right direction and get your mojo back.

Challenge #1: See your own reflection. Grab a piece of paper and pen (yup, right now)

Write down everything you've accomplished in your life. Just start writing. Start at the very beginning. Here's the thing, you can only use one sheet of paper, and one side.

And spill everything! From learning to speak, to walking, riding a bike, finally understanding Calculus (…ok, maybe ignore the Calculus thing), graduating high school, everything you can remember up to today.

No skimping either! — the children you've raised — challenges you've overcome — love you've shared — friends you've helped — fun you've had — goals you've reached — goals you're making progress toward! Spill it all out so you can literally SEE everything that's right about you.

This may take some time, and may not fit on one sheet of paper, …but that's the point.

No matter who or where we are today, WE ALL need to take more time to recognize how amazing we actually are. Not for the sake of ego, but for the sake of accuracy! As we watch that piece of paper begin to overflow with more achievements than we can fit, we should never again doubt how strong and capable we actually are. You have a life full of wins.

Challenge #2: Journal your wins, daily!

You can make this a 5 minute drill, or, take your time and really get into detail. Either way, if you're not journaling yet, now is definitely the time to begin.

Start documenting your accomplishments every day. The big wins are great, but the more frequent “little things” are even more important. Compliment an employees performance? Make a meal using a new recipe? Did you call Mom just to say “I love you”? Make progress on a project at work? Did you make someone you love laugh today? Write ALL of those awesome wins down every single day.

At the end of each week, take a few moments to reflect on your daily entries. You will be absolutely thrilled at the overwhelming sense of accomplishment and confidence you feel when you take actual inventory of the amazing things you've done each week. What's even better is the residual effect — You will WANT to do more of what feels good! And that's not a bad problem to have.

So, have at it! Take on these 2 challenges and share your thoughts by leaving a comment. Don't for get to PAY IT FORWARD and share with your friends.

Thanks for stopping by!

We'll chat soon — Until then, I'll be cheering you on.